Internal Grant Writer & Educator

Hello, we’re Instrumentl. 

We’re a mission-driven startup helping the nonprofit sector to drive impact, and we’re well on our way to becoming the #1 most-loved grant discovery and management tool. To help us get there, we’re hiring an internal grant writer & educator to help us build innovative technology for our nonprofit customers.

Instrumentl is fully distributed, with a significant percentage of the team in the SF Bay Area. For this role, we’re looking for someone in the SF Bay Area who is excited to work from our Oakland office at least 2x a week.

About us:

Instrumentl (YC S16) is the best platform for nonprofits and grant writing consultants looking to grow revenue. We help over 3,000 organizations win more grants by bringing discovery, research and tracking to one place. Our customers are on the front lines educating kids, saving endangered species, and restoring watersheds. By supporting their grant discovery and management on Instrumentl, you’ll help move the world forward. 🌎✨

Our charts are dramatically up-and-to-the-right 📈 — we’re cash flow positive and doubling year-over-year, with customers who love us (NPS is 65+ and Ellis PMF survey is 60+). Join us on this rocket ship!

About the role:

We’re looking for experienced and active nonprofit grant writing consultants to join as in-house grant writers. Bring your existing client base to this position while you advise our Product Team on building new products and improving existing products for the grant seeking market.

In this dynamic position, you will straddle two worlds: nurturing your existing grant writing consultancy and injecting your firsthand insights into our product development process. This role reports to Instrumentl’s co-founder Angela Braren. While this position starts as a contract we hope it grows into a full time position.

Get to know us at instrumentl.com/about! We can’t wait to meet you.

What you'll get to do:

Grant Writing Consultancy (approx. 50% of your time):

• Serve your existing clients through Instrumentl tools (those that are live and those in development) providing unique efficiencies and advantages to your clients while sharing your feedback and ideas with our team. How can we make our tools better for you and your clients?

• Gain deep insights into the latest trends and demands in the grant writing sector enriching your understanding of the market and allowing you to better serve your clients and stay ahead in the industry.

• Expand Your Network: Collaborate with a diverse team of professionals and clients at Instrumentl. Build valuable connections and open doors to new opportunities and collaborations.

Product Development Advisory & Education (approx 50% of your time):

• Educate our 40+ person team and enhance their understanding and empathy towards our customers. You’ll host workshops for our internal team on things like: how to manage federal grants, how to keep track of spend down of a grant, how to forecast and more.

• Be a strategic advisor to Instrumentl’s Product Team, contributing to brainstorming sessions, helping generate new product ideas or improvements to existing products.

• Manage timelines, coordinate tasks, book meetings, document interview results and ensure that related projects stay on track.

• Test the product for things like usability and quality assurance, collaborating with design and engineering teams.

• Help form this totally new role in collaboration with Angela and the Product Team.

Our ideal candidate:

Deep domain expertise: We’re looking for a grant expert. 6+ experience serving nonprofits across the grants lifecycle, especially grant management, spenddown of grants, forecasting, writing killer applications. Routine and recent experience working with both public (especially federal) and private grants.

You’re loved by your clients: You have an active grant writing consultancy. You write and win grants regularly and are loved by your clients.

An honest & clear communicator: You can communicate how your ideas might translate into product improvements. You’re an efficient and effective communicator in both verbal and written forms. You’re brutally honest with product feedback. 

A visionary bar-raiser: You know what great looks like. You’ve built unique workflows to improve efficiency and outcomes for your clients. You can conceptualize solutions not already in the market. You enjoy dreaming up new innovative solutions that contribute to the product roadmap. 

You have an owners mindset : You’re accountable for the service you provide your clients and know that when it comes to delivering for your clients, “the buck stops with you”.

You have experience teaching : You enjoy presenting, teaching, creating content, and sharing best practices.

You’ve been a project owner : You have experience managing project timelines, resources, and priorities.

Comfort in an ambiguous environment: You enjoy taking on ambiguous projects in an ambiguous environment. Instrumentl is a startup growing 90%+ year over year  so things evolve quickly and comfort in paving your own road comes naturally to you.

Why You'll Love This Role:

You're stepping into a dual role that's at the heart of innovation at Instrumentl. Here, your unique blend of skills won't just be valued – they'll change the shape of the nonprofit grants market. You'll enjoy the thrill of seeing your direct input shape products used by thousands, while still engaging one on one with clients who are changing the world.

This is a hybrid office / remote role. Enjoy working within our trendy Rockridge/Bushrod office in Oakland with supportive and highly collaborative teammates, easy parking, walk to restaurants and BART, while also having the flexibility to work from home when you need.

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive hourly rate

• Generous PTO policy

• Company laptop + office work station

• Bi-annual retreats for in-person time with your colleagues

A Little More About us:

Instrumentl is evolving rapidly. You’ll always have new challenges and opportunities to grow in your role — you won’t be bored! You’ll be an early member (#44) of our small but mighty team, playing a huge role in shaping our culture for the years and teammates to come.

At Instrumentl…

🚀 Our customers are the heroes: We have gratitude for the opportunity to serve our customers, as they are the true heroes of our story. We actively seek to understand and empathize with their needs, to deliver exceptional experiences and empower their success.

🏗️ We don’t by-stand - we build: We value action. We are owners that jump in and build. We take end-to-end accountability and deliver exceptional results.

🔍 We seek feedback & insight: We pursue feedback and new insights from teammates, customers, and advisors. We seek growth, though sometimes uncomfortable, so that we uncover unknown unknowns, continuously iterate and improve, and unlock our full potential (as individuals, and as a company).

✅ We think big and move fast: We celebrate thinking big & optimistically with moving quickly, empowering our team to rapidly generate meaningful learnings & outcomes. By embracing the concept of minimal viable solutions, we unlock forward momentum and continuously innovate.

🏆 We win together: We believe in winning together, as a team, and with our customers. We value nurturing a community of high-integrity relationships through empathy, inclusion, and collaboration. By combining the strengths of individuals with alignment to our mission, we forge a powerful team that celebrates and builds upon our shared successes.

At Instrumentl, we pride ourselves on building a diverse team from the ground up. Every role is an opportunity to teach, learn, and create some of your best work - if you’re excited to grow along with us, we encourage you to apply!